Sonu Nigam feels AR Rahman ‘wouldn’t call himself a great singer'; praises him for his ability to stay in sur
Singer Sonu Nigam praised music composer AR Rahman’s voice, calling it “nice” despite his lack of formal training, highlighting Rahman’s ability to stay in sur.
Popular singer Sonu Nigam recently shared his thoughts on AR Rahman’s singing abilities, stating that while Rahman is “not a trained singer,” he has a “nice tone” to his voice. Sonu added that even Rahman would admit he isn’t a great singer but emphasised that Rahman’s strength lies in his ability to stay in sur, despite not having a traditional vocal training.
In an interview with O2 India, Sonu was asked to assess Rahman’s singing skills, to which he replied: “Obviously, he is not a very trained singer. The tone of his voice is very nice. He wouldn’t call himself a great singer, so what can we say? He knows his texture is very beautiful but he has never claimed to be a great singer. He is a great composer so obviously he is always in sur. The main thing is to be in sur. What is the point of a good voice texture if one is not in sur? His voice might not be great but he is always in sur because he is AR Rahman.”
Sonu Nigam and AR Rahman’s collaboration began in the 1990s, and they have remained musical partners for nearly three decades. While Sonu is primarily a singer and Rahman is celebrated for his work as a composer, Rahman has also provided his own vocals for several well-known songs, including Khwaja Mere Khwaja, Tere Bina, and Rehna Tu.
As he spoke about Rahman’s singing, Sonu also recalled a memorable moment when Rahman allowed him to compose a small section of the track Inn Lamhon Ke Daaman Mein from Jodha Akbar (2013). Sonu shared that towards the end of the song, he spontaneously created a part after Rahman asked for his input on how he would approach it. “He allowed me to compose that part,” Sonu proudly stated. Rahman immediately took a liking to it and decided to keep it as part of the final song.
“He must have tweaked a couple of things but he allowed me to work on this portion because the whole song was ready. Javed saab sent these lines later, so they were added then. So first we sang the whole song, then this portion was done later. He is quite secure. He is not someone who will say that I have to do it,” Sonu shared. The section composed by Sonu can be heard towards the end of the song, where it remains almost entirely free of instrumentation, creating a hauntingly beautiful effect.
